Lighthouses of Guiana (French Guiana)

French Guiana, the only remaining European territory in South America,
is located on the north coast of the continent adjoining Brazil to the
east and south and Suriname to the west. Now known officially as Guiana, the territory is governed as
an overseas département of the French Republic. Formerly known as the site of the infamous Devil's
Island penal colony, French Guiana has become better known in recent
years as the site of the European Space Agency's Spaceport
launch facilities. Both the prison and the Spaceport are now popular tourist
destinations.

The French word for a lighthouse, phare, is often reserved for
the larger coastal lighthouses; a smaller light or harbor light is called
a feu (literally "fire," but here meaning "light").

ARLHS numbers are from the ARLHS
World List of Lights. Admiralty numbers are from volume J of the
Admiralty List of Lights & Fog Signals. U.S. NGA List numbers
are from Publication 110.

1934 (station established 1864). Active; focal plane 65 m (213
ft); two white flashes, separated by 2.5 s, every 10 s. 29 m (95
ft) skeletal tower with lantern and gallery mounted atop a round
masonry tower. Masonry tower painted white; skeletal tower and lantern
painted bright red. A photo is above, Larry Halff has a photo,
Trabas has a photo
by Douglas Cameron, and Bing has a satellite view. The lighthouse stands amid the buildings of a
former penal colony, closed in 1951. (Devil's Island, the best known
part of the penal colony, is separated from Île Royale by
a narrow strait.) The light was originally shown from the roof
of the prison hospital. The island is accessible from Cayenne by
passenger ferry, and guided tours are available. Located at the
highest point of the island. Site open, tower closed. ARLHS FRG-002;
Admiralty J6894; NGA 17416.

Date unknown. Inactive (daybeacon). Tripod with a red trapezoidal
daymark mounted atop a 12 m (39 ft) round stone tower with gallery.
Tower painted white. Gaetano Cerrone has a closeup photo,
Olivier Mondet has another closeup,
Wikimedia has many photos, Lightphotos.net has a closeup photo, and Google has a satellite
view. This tower was built as a signal tower for communications
between the mainland and the Îles du Salut, including Devil's
Island. The tower is named informally for Alfred Dreyfus, the French
Army officer famously imprisoned on Devil's Island from 1895 to 1899.
Located on the Pointe des Roches, the promontory on the west side
of the entrance to the Kourou River in Kourou. Site open, tower status
unknown.

L'Enfant Perdu (2)

1919 (modified in 1934) (station established 1863). Reactivated (inactive 1968-1989);
focal plane 17 m (56 ft); white flash every 5 s. 15 m (49 ft) round
concrete tower topped by a lantern and gallery mounted on a short
skeletal tower. An abandoned keeper's house stands next to the lighthouse.
A photo is at right, and Patrick Balta has a photo, and Lightphotos.net has Balta's photo.
Klaus Huelse has a historic postcard view
of the first lighthouse on the reef. It was replaced in 1919. Huelse has a postcard view showing the original appearance of the present tower. The lighthouse
was deactivated in favor of a buoy in 1968. After many protests from
mariners, the tower was reactivated with an automated, solar-powered
lamp in 1989. Located on a rocky islet about 11 km (7 mi) north of
Cayenne. Accessible only by boat. Site and tower closed. ARLHS FRG-001;
Admiralty J6901; NGA 17428.